Car dumping apparatus



Jan. 10, 1933. R. s. PETERSON ET AL CAR DUMPING APPARATUS 1 we a fi m P MN ISL dk -m Mk In 6 m A P Filed Dec. 5. 1929 Jan. 10, 1933. R. s. PETERSON ET AL CAR DUMPlNG APPARATUS Filed Dec. 5, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 h u caeoooccooow w X lm Jan. 10, 1933. R; s. PETERSON ET AL CAR DUMPING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 5. 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 1mm efeksan PCZ'A my 9 M m 6 rjmwefi J n- 10, 9 3- R. s. PETERSON ET AL 1,393,633

CAR DUMPING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 5. 192 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Im/entwis 2%; M hJ 575m 1 Ak-t/uv Lee (M 6m, m

Jan. 10, 1933. R s, PETERSON AL 1,893,633

CAR DUMPING APPARATUS Filed 5 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 (IHIP 6M EIEYZQS.

Patented Jan. It 1933 PATENT @FFEQE RAYDIOND S. PETEYBSOIF AND ARTHUR It. LEE, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS GAE; DUIEFIIIG APPARATUS Application filed Eccenzoer 5, 19:19.

l his invention relates to a new and improved car dumping apparatus, and more particularly to an improved apparatus for successively dumping the contents from the several cars of a train or series of coupled cars into a stationary hopper or other receiving means as the ears are continuously moved along the supporting rails or track extendlng through the apparatus.

Most ypes of car dumping apparatus heretofore in use have required that the train or string of cars be halted as each car comes into the dumping apparatus to permit this car to be inverted to dump the contents therefrom. Special type couplers permitting individual rotation of the coupled cars have also been required. Any dumping systems which permitted the cars to be dumped while in motion along the track have required the use or special dumping bodies involving doors or chutes in the bottom or sides of the car.

According to this invention, an improved form of dump car is used comprising a truck adapted to he supported upon and move along the rails and remain in a substantially hori- Zontal position, and a body formed of permanently closed bottom, sides and ends, with an open top. the body normally resting fiat up on the truck but being hinged thereto along one side edge so that the body may be swung laterally about this hinged connection to a substantially inverted position so that its contents are dumped at one side of the track. Spit-ally curved rails are provided which engage means on the car body to swing the same to dumping position and then return it to normal upright position as the car moves c-ontinu sly through the dumping apparatus. Otner lined rails or guides engage portions of the truck to hold the truck in normal tion upon the rails or trackway while the is being inverted.

l he principal objectof this invention is to prov "e an improved our dumping apparatus or tl lit type briefly described hereinabove, and disclosed more in detail in the specific.- tions niiich follow. I

Another object is to provide an improved form of dump car, which is simple, of lIlZtXlmum capacity, and dust-tight since there are Serial No. 411,859.

dump car While it is in motion along a trackway.

Another object is to provide improved means for holding the car-truck upon the rails during the dumping operation.

Another object is to provide improved means for dumping tire contents from the cars of a train without uncoupling the cars and the cars are in motion along the supporting rails. I

Another object is to provide improved means for dumping the contents from the cars 6 of a train. While the cars move along the track under the influence o1 gravity.

Another object is to provide an improved car dumping apparatus through which cars can be continuously moved and either be dumped or retain their contents as may be desired.

Another object is to provide a car dumping apparatus thatcan be moved along a continuous trackway so as to function at any desired location.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description of certain ap proved forms of apparatus adapted to operate according to the principles of this invention.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the dumping apparatus in operation with a string of cars passing therethrough.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the dumping mechanism, on a somewhat larger scale.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse vertical section, taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. at is a view similar to Fig. 3 taken substantially on the line l4-. of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical section, taken substantially on the line 5-5 of 3. Fig. (3 is a longitudinal vertical section taken substantially on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2.

Figs. 7 and 8 are respectively a side elevation and plan View showing the apparatus ar ranged on an incline so that the dumping operation may be carried out by the force of gravity acting on the descending cars.

Fig. 9 is an end elevation showing the dumping apparatus mounted for movement to different locations along a trackway.

Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 9.

A continuous trackway of usual construction, comprising the rails 1 and 2, extends alongside of and closely adjacent the op en top 3 of a hopper or similar structure for re ceiving the contents of the cars as they are dumped. The rails 1 and 2 may be supported in any suitable manner adjacent the hopper, as for example by the longitudinally extending beams 5 and transverse beams 6.

The improved dump car, in the simple form here disclosed, comprises the truck or chassis 7 and the relatively movable body portion 8. The truck 7 comprises an upper substantially flat horizontal supporting truck platform 9, and a suitable under framework 10 in which the supporting wheels 11 are journaled. Preferably the upper portions of the wheels 11 project above the supporting platform 9, as indicated at 12 in Figs. 4 and 5. It will be hereinafter apparent that the specific construction of this truck or chassis may depart considerably from the simple form here shown without affecting its operation according to the principles of this invention.

The body 8 may be of the usual substantially rectangular type, and comprises permanently closed bottom, side and end portions and an open top. The bottom 13 of the body normally rests throughout the greater portion of its area directly upon the supporting platform 9 of the truck, as indicated at A in Fig. 8. In the example here shown, pockets (Fig. 5) are formed in the bottom 13 to receive the upwardly projecting portions 12 of the wheels and permit the body to rest flat upon the supporting platform 9. The body and truck are hinged together along one side edge of the truck and adjacent one lower side edge portion of the body, by any suitable form of hinge connection as indicated at 1 1. This connection permits the body to be swung from the normal upright position shown at A to a position such as shown at- C where it is sufficiently inverted to dump the entire contents of the body into the hopper 1. Several successive positions of the car body during the dumping operation are indicated at A, B, C, D, and E, in the drawings. During the dumpin g operation, the cars move in the direction of the arrows orfrom right to left as seen in ig. 1, or away from the observer as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

The side 15 of the car body opposite the hinged connection may be slightly beveled inwardly at its upper edge as shown at 16, and a reinforcing bar 17 anchored to the side plate carries a pintle orstud 18 on wh ch is journaled the freely rotatable dumping roller 19. This roller is preferably positioned sub stantially midway the ends of the body, as best shown in Fig. 5.

A supporting framework or housing 21, which may be formed in any desired manner, for example of the reinforced plates or arches 22 connected by longitudinally extending girders 23, extends over the trackway and the mouth 3 of the hopper, and the free space under this framework is sutlicient to permit the car bodies to be swung from the position A to the position C and return without encountering any portion of the framework. The principal object of this framework is to support the several guide rails or tracks which function to invert the car-body and simultaneously hold the car on the main tracks during the dumping operation. The spirally curved dumping rails 24 and 25 extend longitudinally through the framework 21 in the general direction of travel of the cars, and the longitudinal axis of the cylinder about which these tracks curve coincides with the line of travel of the axis of hinge 14. The roller 19 on the car body will thus engage properly with one or the other of the rails 2% and 25 in any position to which the body may be swung about its hinged axis. The rails 24 and 25 are supported by struts 26 projecting from the framework 21. The rail 24 extends down alongside the outer or righthand side of the trackway (Fig. 3) at its intake end so as to engage beneath the roller 19 when the car body is in its normal position as shown at A. As the car moves forwardly through the dumping apparatus, the upward curve of rail 24 will lift the roller 19 and swing the car body about its hinged axis until the center of gravity of the body and its load passes through the vertical plane passing through the hinged axis 1 1, after which the roller will rest upon the other curved rail 25 while the body tips over to its extreme inverted position C, the return curvature of rail 25 serving to swing the emptied car body back past the vertical after which it will be supported again by rail 21 until it is eased back to its original normal position upon the supporting platform 9 of the truck. During all of this duumping operation the car is moving continuously along the rails 1 and 2 through the dumping apparatus.

At the entrance end of the dumping apparatus, a rather short guide rail 27 supported by struts 28 extending from the adjacent side or framework 2 1. extends parallel with the rail 1 in position to engage over a holding plate 29 anchored to the adjacent side of the car truck 7 The ends of plate 29 are curved downwardly as indicated at 30 so as to insure proper engagement of this plate benea til the guide rail 27. As indicated in Fig. 5, this guide rail27 is so positioned that it will engage over plate 29 and hold the truck down upon the supporting rails 1 and 2 while the car body is first being lifted so as is a tendency for the car truck to tilt u adjacent the outlet end of the dumping l pulled thereby through the dumper.

upwardly inclined dumping rail 24 is lifting the car body 8 and its load upwardly away from the supporting platform 9 of the truck. A second main guide or holding rail 81 extends longitud nally thror bout the framework 21 para el with the run 1 and directly above the same so as to or. e tae upper surfaces 12 of theouter pair wheels 11 after the body 8 has bet 1 lifted to the position shown in Fig. 5. It will noted in Fig. that the guide rail 31 ove s at its intake end the outlet end of n In this manner the rail 27 will plate 29 and hold the truck down whi.

to )crmit v and truelr the rail 31 to pass between the b and engage the upper side of ti After the weight of the car body and have been shifted to such an emu-it th r ly at its outer side, the car wheels 11 will engage beneath the guide rail 81 and roll therealong until the weight of e body been returned to its normal position upon the t anism. It will be apparent that holding means such as the rail 27 plate 29 on the car could be used through at t .e length of the dumping apparatus to hold the truck down on the rails 1 and 2 of the trackway, but the apparatus inst uescr'b c 1 above is preferred since it permits ro 1 contact of wheels 11 with the guide rail. auxiliary wheel or roller might be substitu .eu

ifor plate 29 on the car for engaging the rail 27.

The several cars of the train may be coupled together in any usual manner, by any type of standard coupler, since the car trucks always remain in normal upright position. An endless chain conveyor 33 provided with hooks or catch members which engage stops 85 formed on the bottom of the several car trucks is mounted between the rails 1 and of the trackway and extends throughout the length of the dumping apparatus. When the leading car of a train has been pushed into engagement with this conveyor mechanism, the string of cars will be continuously Any other form of mechanism might be utilized for propelling the cars through the dumping apparatus, for example any suitable type of engine or motor lor which sutlicient clearance is pro *ided through framework 21, could be used to pull or push the cars along the trackway.

In the form of the invention indicated in Figs. 7 and 8, the dumping apparatus is ar- "ranged on a slope or incline so that the cars will travel through under the influence of the force of gravity. An auxiliary traclzway comprising the rails 36 and 37 is indicated in Fig. 8, this auxiliary trackway being spaced or laterally offset from the main track rails suliiciently so that the dumping roller 19 on the car body will not engage the dumping tracks 24 and 25, and the car truck will not engage the holding rails 27 and 31. With the string of cars proceeding in the direction of the arrow Fig. 8, and the switch 38 positioned as shown, the cars will be deflected onto the auxiliary tracks and may proceed through the dumping apparatus without having the contents dumped therefrom. A spring switch 39 at the other end of the dumping apparatus will permit the cars to pass back onto the main tracks, but when the cars are released and permitted to drift back down the incline along the main tracks 1 and 2 the cars will be automatically dumped.

t will be seen that by providing an auxiliary trackway such as 36 and 37, and suitable switches at the ends thereof, individual cars of a train or string of cars may be guided onto the auxiliary tracks and consequently not dumped, the remaining cars passingalong the main tracks and being subject to the dumping operation. This will necessitate the use of couplers between the cars permitting the necessary lateral offset between the coupled cars positioned on different tracks.

Referring now toFigs. 9 and 10, the framework 21 (which, together with the guide rails 24, 25, 27 and 31 carried thereby, may be essentially the same as in the previously described forms of the invention), is supported on a plurality of wheels l0 movable along the rails ell supported at either side of the main tracks 1 and 2 and parallel thereto so that the dumper framework 21 will bridge the main tracks in the usual manner at any location along the rails 41. The opening indicated at 42 may be an elongated hopper, or one of a series of hoppers positioned along the trackway, and by merely moving the dumping framework along rails 41 to the desired location the contents of the cars may be dumped into any selected hopper. Any suitable means suchas brakes or locking means applied to the wheels 40 or rails 41 or engaging the roadbed, may be used to anchor the dumper framework at any desired location along the trac-kway. This form of the invention could be utilized, for example, to feed coal to along battery of boilers having individual. stokers with receiving hoppers arranged in alignment.

This improved dumping apparatus and method of dumping cars has the great advanof continuous operation, that is the cars move continuously without stopping through the dumping apparatus. It will be noted that during this operation, as one car is being inverted to dumping position another car is being returned to normal upright position so that these cars tend to counterbalance one another and thus reduce the power required for dumping the cars. I

It will be apparent that the angle of the curved dumping tracks 24: and 25, and the length of the dumping apparatus, may be varied as desired. In case sticky materials, or other materials which will not dump readily are to be handled, the hopper can be elongated and the curvature of the dumping. tracks made more gradual so that the cars will remain longer in an inverted position. Also those portions of the curved rails which return the car to upright position may be made more abrupt than the portions which dump the loaded car, since less effort is required for the first mentioned operation.

It will be noted that the dump cars are of simple construction, of maximum capacity, and are dust-tight since there are no openings in the bottom or sides of the car. There is no limit to the size of the lumps or masses of material that are carried in the car, since the entire top of the car is open and the material is not forced to pass through chutes or dumping openings in the bottom of the car. Standard couplers and running gear may be used since the trucks always remain in normal upright position on the tracks.

It will be noted that the only moving parts are the roller 19 and the hinge 14 on the car, there being no moving parts whatever to the dumping apparatus positioned over and adjacent the trackway. This portion of the apparatus is simple and is for the most part built of standard shapes, and considerable latitude is presented as to the construction of this supporting mechanism, since any structure having the requisite strength to support the several guide rails will suffice for the purposes of this invention.

e claim:

1. In combination with a plurality of cars each comprisfn a truck With wheels, and a body hinged to the truck along one of its side edges, a dumping apparatus comprising a hopper, a continuous trackway extending ad- 1 jacent the hopper along which the wheels of the trucks travel, means for propelling the trucks along the track, a curved overhead track, means on each car body for engaging the overhead track to tilt the body of the moving car about its hinged connection and dump the contents thereof into the hopper, and an auxiliary rail adapted to be engaged by the upper surfaces of certain wheels of the truck to hold these wheels in normal upright position and prevent the truck from tilting during the dumping operation.

2. In combination with a plurality of cars each comprising a truck with wheels, and a body hinged to the truck along one of its side edges, a dumping apparatus comprising a hopper, a continuous trackway extending adjacent the hopper along which the wheels of the trucks travel, means for propelling the trucks along the track, a curved overhead track, means on each car body for engaging the overhead track to tilt the body of. the moving car about its hinged connection and dump the contents thereof into the hopper, a stationary guide and cooperating means on the truck which engage during the first tilting movement of the body to hold the truck down on the trackway, and an auxiliary rail engaged by the upper surfaces of certain of the wheels during the dumping operation to hold the truck in normal upright position of the trackway.

RAYMOND S. PETERSON.

ARTHUR L. LEE. 

